Process of making knife handles



W. l. NELSON PROCESS OF MAKING KNIFE HANDLES Filed June 23. 1922 Nov. 6, 1923.

Patented Nov. ti, M923.

UNHTEB') STATES hdlddzl WILMEE I. NELS QN, OF WARREN, MICHIGAN.

PROCESS OF MAKING KNIFE HANDLES.

Application filed June 23, 1922. Serial No. 570,451.

T 0 all 20720721, it may concern Be it known that I, VVILMER I. NnLsoN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Warren, in the county of Macomb and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in rocesses of Making Knife Handles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

of knife handles, especially metallic handles as applied to the blades of caseknives.

My invention involves a process of providing .the tangs of knife blades with handles that may be expeditiously and economically produced, the handles being susceptible to any desired weight and ornamentation during their manufacture so that a perfectly balanced and properly finished handle may be firmly anchored on the tang of the knife blade.

The process involves, in one instance, the use of a permanent core about which is placed a shell containing malleable metal which anchors the shell relative to the core. This composite structure is then subjected to the action of rolls and then to the action of dies, the result being a compressed composite handle of desired contour. In another instance. a shell may be provided with a temporary core, subjected to the action of rolls and then to the action of dies, and finally the temporary core removed, leaving a hollow handle in which the shank or tang of a blade be mounted. In either instance, the process involved permits of the handles being formed with bolsters of desired size and configuration which cooperate with the handles in positively anchoring and bracing knife blades.

The process of manufacture permits of various kinds of materials entering into a handle constructiona'nd it is possible to finish the handles to eliminate seams and have the same appear as though integral with a knife blade, yet made of a different and less expensive material.

The apparatus necessary for carrying my process into practice will be hereinafter described, together with the various steps of the process, and reference will now be had to the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a This invention relates to the manufacture mold provided with a core and shell prepared for filling;

Fig. 2 is a smiliar view showing a filler having been placed in the shell about the core of the mold;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of rolls subjecting the filled shell to a rolling action which anchors the core and filler relative to ablade tang or shank;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the same;

F ig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of dies subjecting the rolled handle to pressure for a final configuration;

'Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of the same;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a mold having ashell provided with a filler, illustrating a modification of my invention;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of rolls subjecting the filled shell, shown in Fig. 7, for rolling act-ion;

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of dies reshaping the filled rolled shell;

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same;

Fig. 11 is aside elevation of a knife handle. partly broken away and partly in section, as produced by this modification of my invention, and

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a knife handle as produced by the preferred form of my process illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive.

In the drawing the reference numeral 1 denotes a mold provided with an annular cavity 2 leaving a center member 3 which has a stem 4 over which may be fitted the inner end of acore 5, while a cylindrical or tubular shell 6 may be placed in the cavity 2 against the mold 1.

The core 5 may be .conveniently made of any soft or compressible material, for instance wood, and said core is substantially cylindrical, preferably tapered inwardly from its outer end to its inner end, the outer end being rounded and terminating slightly below the plane of the outer edges of the shell 6. The shell 6 may be made of any malleable metal, and I may use soft brass, German silver, thin aluminum or an alloy that may be finished'to approach the finish of silver or nickel plate.

The shell 6 about the core 5 provides a cavity into which the filler 7 may be poured or otherwise placed and this filler is prac tically made of soft metal, as lead which will form a lining for the shell 6 andpermit of the desired contour or configuration being imparted to" the shell 6 for complete article. 7

When the moldl is removed the stem 1 of the mold has left a cavity or recess in the inner end of the core in which the flat or irregularly shaped tang or shank 8 of a knife blade 9 may be placed. The embryo handle is now ready to be shaped towa'rdsits final finish and the first operation on the embryo handle takes place between a plurality of driven rolls 10 having bell ends 11 and peripheral beads or collars 12' When the embryo handle is placed between these rolls and subjected to the pressure or rolling action of said rolls, the inner ends of the the peripheral head or collar 12 ofthe rolls 1O, causing thecore, filler and shell to be provided with an annular indentation, gen erally designated 18, which engages the tang 8 and anchors said tang relative to the core. The inner end ofthe filler 7, which protrudes beyond the inner end of the core 5, is shaped about the tangS to form an embryo bolsterj The bell ends 11 of the rolls 1O inturn or inwardly ream the outer ends of the filler 7 "and the shell 6, and with the bell end of one of said rolls larger than the other bell ends the ends of the filler. and the shell may be turned inwardly on the rounded end of the core'5 without the formation of a flash or pronounced seam.

After receiving the rolling illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 the next step is subjecting the partially formed handle to the action of dies 14.- havin the confronting faces thereof provided with molding recesses 15 adapted to impart a cross sectional oval shape to the handle and form the bolster therefor at the juncture of the blade 9 and its tang 8. With the handleplaced between th'e dies 14 sufficient pressure is brought to bear on one or both of the dies to compress the core 5, the filler? and shape the shell 6, as best shown iii-Figs; 5 and 6, and as a result of L this operation, a bolster 16 and the handle enues and completesthe 7 areformedp By reference to Fig.5 it

will be noted that the inner end of the filler 7 is crowded about the inner end of the core' '5 and on to the inner end ofthe blade -9 and thebolster shell engages said i juncture of the handle with the blade. I 7

As set forth in the beginning, I may resort to a modification of this pr0cess,'which consists in providing a mold 18 with a cavity 19 toreceive a shell 20 and-a filler 21. In this instance, the core is dispensed with and the filler completely fills the shell 20.

After themold 18 is removed the cylindrical outer end of the filler. This filler being of soft metal may be removed by subjecting the handle to heat, the filler being melted, flowing out of the shell and leaving a hollow handle, in'the inner end of which may be fitted and secured the tang 23 of a blade 24.

in either instance, the mold recesses of the dies may have a contour or configuration that will impart a: desired finish to the handle shell, for instance ornamentation as shown in Fig. 11, and it is obvious that ."the handles produced in accordance with my invention be mounted on or attached 7 V g to forks, tools, instruments, various hand core 5, filler 7 and shell 6 are compressed by articles, and that handles maybe finished according to the grade'of the article to be produce I do not care to confine my invention to the specific form of rolls and dies, to the manner of operatingsuch instrumentalities, tov the materials that may enter into the handle, and such other changes asare per-' missible by the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is I 1. A. process of making a knife handle and attaching it to a knife blade, consisting of forming an embryo handlefrom a permanent core, filler and shell; inserting a blade tang in one end of the'core; subjecting the core. filler and shell to the action of rolls to close the filler and shell aboutthe permanent core and form an embryo bolster contiguous to the blade. tang; and then subjecting the rolled core, filler and shell to the action of dies to mold and set the handle relative to the knife blade. 1 V

2. A process of making a knife handle and attaching it to a knife'blade, asset forth in claim 1, wherein the dies impart a cross sectionaloval shape to the handle and complete the formation of the bolster.

L. The process set forth in claim 3, where in the pressure first forms an embryo handle and bolster with a permanent core and then completes the handle and bolster.

5. A process of making a knife handle and attaching it to a knife blade, consisting of mounting a shell about a permanent core, the shell being greater in length than the core; mounting the inner end of and shell and forms the greater part of the E0 the core on a blade tang; and then applying bolster.

pressure to the shell to compress the core In testimony whereof I affix my signaon the blade tang and the shell about the ture in presence of two witnesses.

blade to form a. bolster.

6. A process of making a knife handle WILMER I. NELSON. and attaching it to a knife blade, as set I WVitn'esses: i'orth in claim 5, wherein a compressible KARL H. BUTLER,

material is interposed between said cone G. E. MGGRANN. 

